Sheriff Joe
Arpaio's Animal Protection Shelter

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, famous
for doing things like constructing a "tent city" jail in the
middle of the Arizona desert and making his prisoners wear pink
underwear, has turned his attention to dogs and cats held in his
custody and arrested a fellow lawman for animal cruelty.

His latest two moves have animal-lovers all over America
cheering. He's cracking down on animal abuse in the area by
moving dogs and cats who are victims of abuse, or that are
being held as evidence in domestic violence cases, into the
air-conditioned, jail where a select group of female prisoners who
are busy hugging, petting and looking after these previously
mistreated animals.

“About eight months ago, I removed all of the inmates from our
oldest jail,” Arpaio says, “because it had some plumbing problems.
So I got the idea to put all the dogs and cats in those empty cell
blocks, which happen to be air-conditioned! Now they have a
beautiful place to live - it has beds and everything in there. And
inmates look after the pets!”

BANDIT: The police dog died after being left
unattended in a Chandler Arizona squad vehicle for almost 13
hours.

Prisoners are painting the insides of the jail with pictures of
trees, flowers and fire hydrants, to make the creatures feel more
at home.

“The inmates painted the walls so the animals wouldn't think it
looked too much like a jail, “Arpaio said, “They love it. They
love taking care of the animals”.... Prisoners are telling the
sheriff, ‘we did wrong and we deserve to be in jail, but these
dogs do not deserve to be abused.’

The sheriff takes a dim view of anyone who abuses or neglects
animals. Two months ago he booked Chandler police Sgt. Tom
Lovejoy into jail and charged the fellow lawman with animal
cruelty in connection with the death of a police dog.

Lovejoy was arrested Sept. 5 after sheriff’s investigators
determined that he had recklessly caused the death of a Chandler
police K-9.

Bandit, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, died Aug. 11 after being
left in a police vehicle parked for 13 hours outside Lovejoy’s
home.

Bandit’s handler and two other officers used bleach and water
to clean out the vehicle, according to a sheriff’s office report.
One of the officers, a commander, then paid $299 with a city
credit card to have the dog cremated at a nearby veterinary
clinic, the report states. The actions left little physical
evidence for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to examine.

The Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police has come out against
Arpaio’s decision to book the Chandler police Sergeant. The
association believes Lovejoy should have received a citation for
the misdemeanor and then been released, Ralph Tranter, executive
director of AACOP told the East Valley Tribune in
September.